Moore played with the Leafs in 2017-18, but was often a healthy scratch. In fact, he was scratched from 13 of the team's last 15 games. But Moore feels he still has some proverbial gas in the tank. However, he was on the sideline in mid-summer, waiting for a contract offer. He stated unequivocally that he was beyond a tryout deal with an NHL club. Still, it won't matter where Moore lands. He is 10 years removed from his 45-point peak and is a part-time fourth-line checker, at best.
Moore is a fourth-line player that still has speed despite his age. His offense is limited -- he had 11 goals and 14 assists in 82 games with the Bruins last year -- and you won't see that trend up in 2017-18. Moore will be a solid forechecker and penalty killer, but that won't help you in the fantasy arena.
Moore, who recorded six goals, nine helpers and 32 PIM in 80 games with the Rangers in 2015-16, adds some veteran depth to the Bruins' forward corps. The Harvard product -- who was drafted back in 2000 -- will likely center the team's fourth line, however, leaving him off the fantasy radar in most formats. The Bruins will be the 2013-14 Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy recipient's 10th NHL team.
After logging his first full 82-game campaign since his rookie season in 2005-06, the 34-year-old is one to watch at Rangers camp this season. Moore managed 10 goals and 27 points and 118 shots in 2014-15, despite logging limited minutes as the team’s fourth-line center for most of the campaign. Although the organization heads into another season with little depth up the middle and Moore will intermittently find himself centering other lines due to injury or slumping personnel, a checking-line role likely awaits again, which should make him largely irrelevant to those in standard fantasy formats.
Certainly one of the best stories of the Rangers’ magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Moore, 33, had a knack for finding the back of the net when his team needed it the most. When the first-line offense looked to be on its final legs during the postseason, head coach Alain Vigneault entrusted Moore to step in and get things going again. No, he’ll never be accused of being a wizard with the puck and his fantasy impact is severely limited by his fourth-line centering duties, but Moore seems to have found a spirited and balanced game that he didn’t necessarily have before. We’re not saying he’s going to produce more than the meager 26 points he offered in 73 regular season games last season, but stranger things have occurred, especially on a team with such shallow depth down the middle.
From a team perspective, the acquisition of Moore not only provides a needed depth to the center position, but also allows new head coach Alain Vigneault to move struggling forward Brian Boyle back to winger. Originally a third round pick (2000) of the Rangers, the veteran Ontario native is coming back to where it all started. Moore, who played 87 games on Broadway to start his career, has become a bit of a journeyman, playing for eight other NHL teams in six seasons. After losing his wife to a rare form of cancer in January of 2013, Moore is likely to be playing with a heavy heart for most of the season and there's no telling how he will perform under the circumstances, but our bets are on inspired. Never having registered more than 41 points in any season, obviously we don't suggest spending a draft pick on the 33-year-old. But with all the trimmings of a feel good story, we wouldn't be surprised if he had a career year, despite being likely marked for checking line ice time.
Moore is one of those role guys who helps a great team win. He has the speed to irritate opponents and open up lanes, too, and his hands are decent enough, as well. His focus this offseason has been on his family -- his wife is fighting a rare form of liver cancer -- so he's hasn't signed with any team yet. His role will be defined once he commits to a team; we'll be able to better gauge his value then.
Mr. Moore is a perfect third-line center. He's off-the-chart smart, fast and has decent enough hands to drain a few every once in a while. His hockey IQ allows him to jump up on the wing beside guys like Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis, or lead the charge on the penalty kill. He's a role guy who has finally found his niche (aside from that year in Toronto, of course) and he's just the kind of player a team with Cup aspirations needs to propel them to success. His position makes him a tough add in fantasy, though -- he just doesn't deliver enough of anything in any one category to make him worthy in any but the deepest of non-positional leagues.
Moore is a cerebral centerman whose value on the ice far outstrips his fantasy worth. He's outstanding in the faceoff circle and can kill penalties with aplomb. His biggest value, though, comes as a buffer for Vinny Lecavalier. Moore is the ultimate team man who'll do whatever is asked including the defensive-zone dirty work that has seemed to tax Vinny's game. That just won't translate into points ... unless your last name is Lecavalier.
Moore is smart, fast and responsible. But his hands and creativity aren't even NHL average. He's one of those guys you like to have on the ice but not on a fantasy squads. But he is fun to watch.
Moore's strengths are back-checking and playing a defense-first game, which is why it was a surprise he didn't get much ice time when he came over from Pittsburgh in a late-season trade. He'll try to carve out a role on the third or fourth line, but doesn't offer much fantasy upside as a defensive-minded player on a defensive-minded team.
Acquired in exchange for a 2007 3rd-round pick, Moore will be used primarily in a penalty-killing role with Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old center scored 18 points (9,9) while playing in all 82 games for the Rangers.
Another good looking prospect in the Rangers' system, Moore brings tenacity and feistiness on the ice, relentlessly back-checking and playing a defense-first game. It may be awhile before we'll see Moore at the garden, but he certainly fits into the Rangers 'new' organizational philosophy: develop and nurture young high-ceiling prospects. Bearing any setbacks, Moore should be a good one; he may need another year in the AHL, but realistically we should see him full-time on the club 2006-07.
